Prior to recent telecommunications legislation, subscribers located within a particular geographic area were served only by a particular local telecommunications service provider. There was virtually no choice regarding the delivery of local telecommunication services. One of the telecommunication services that was provided by the location telecommunications service provider was directory assistance (DA). Typically, directory assistance services were provided with respect to the directory numbers of the subscribers within the particular geographic area served by the service provider. To provide directory assistance, the service provider for the area generally maintained a single comprehensive directory assistance database. This database generally included an entry containing specified information for each subscriber within the geographic area. For example, an entry for John Doe would have included his name, address and directory number. In response to a request for John Doe's directory number, the directory assistance database provided John Doe's directory number based on the input of John Doe's name, and possibly his address or locality. The same retrieval process obtained the directory number of any other subscriber within the particular area served by the service provider unless the subscriber held an unlisted directory number (or possibly for other reasons irrelevant to the present application). Thus, the service provider for a particular geographic area provided directory assistance services with respect to directory numbers of subscribers within the geographic area served by the service provider through the use of a single comprehensive directory assistance database.
Recent telecommunications legislation has made it possible for multiple service providers to offer telecommunication services to the same group of subscribers located within a particular geographic area. This incursion of competitive service providers disturbs the offering of directory assistance services based on a single comprehensive directory assistance database. This disturbance results from the fragmentation of the group of telecommunication service subscribers within a particular geographic area into sub-groups based on the service provider to which each sub-group subscribes for services. The fragmentation into sub-groups does not readily allow for a single comprehensive directory assistance database for all subscribers within the particular geographic area. For example, consider a group of 100,000 subscribers who received telecommunication services from Service Provider A prior to local competition for telecommunication services. Service Provider A provided directory assistance services through the maintenance of a single comprehensive directory assistance database for the 100,000 subscribers of this group.
With local service competition, as an example, this group of subscribers may be divided into three sub-groups including: sub-group A of 20,000 subscribers who receive telecommunication services from Service Provider A; sub-group B of 30,000 subscribers who receive telecommunication services from Service Provider B; and sub-group C of 50,000 subscribers who receive telecommunication services from Service Provider C. If each of the Service Providers A, B and C were to provide directory assistance services with respect to its subscribers, then each would have to maintain a directory assistance database including entries related to its own subscribers. On the other hand, the Service Providers A, B or C might cooperate by agreements with one or both of the other service providers so that one of these service providers maintained a more comprehensive directory assistance database with respect to the subscribers of the other service providers that were party to the agreements. Whether a service provider decides to maintain its own directory assistance database or whether a service provider decides to cooperate with the other service providers in the geographic area, problems arise in the delivery of directory assistance services under such multiple service provider conditions as is explained below.
A set of problems related to directory assistance services in the local competitive environment is faced by a calling party who seeks directory assistance. Whom does the calling party call for directory assistance? This question may be answered by legislation that designates that a particular service provider (or group thereof) provide comprehensive directory assistance services for the geographic area. If there is no comprehensive directory assistance for a particular area, then a calling party may have to call in series the directory assistance service of each of the service providers serving the area until the calling party obtains the desired information or the calling party gives up. As a result, the calling party's perceived value of directory assistance services is diminished. This diminishment stems from the calling party's perception that not much assistance and therefore not much value is obtained from such directory assistance services. If a calling party does not believe that much value is derived from directory assistance service, then the calling party may refrain from using such services or use them only sparingly. Thus, the income to service providers derived from directory assistance services may be reduced.
To avoid a diminishment in the perceived value of directory assistance services, a service provider may opt to provide a calling party with as much assistance as possible in obtaining the directory number of a party. For example, if the directory assistance database of the service provider does not include an entry for a particular party, then the service provider may provide one or more of the following services: (1) the service provider may route the call to the appropriate service provider; (2) the service provider may offer information to the calling party as to which other service provider may have an entry for the particular party; or (3) that service provider may offer other information to the calling party. In this manner, the calling party is made to feel like service is being provided. The calling party does not have to follow a hit-or-miss approach to obtaining the directory number of a particular party. Nonetheless, a service provider desiring to provide as much assistance as possible to a calling party who seeks the directory number of a party faces significant problems. The service provider may not have information as to which service provider other than itself provides any particular party with telecommunications service. Even if a service provider were to keep such information in a directory assistance database or elsewhere, such information may not be current or may be inaccurate. Thus, it may be difficult for a service provider to provide assistance to a calling party who seeks the directory number of a party who does not receive telecommunications service from that service provider.
In sum, the general problem is to provide comprehensive directory assistance services in a multiple service provider local environment. In this context, a specific problem is to provide directory assistance services where there is no single comprehensive directory assistance database. Another specific problem is to provide directory assistance services in the multiple service provider local environment without altering significantly the procedures and form of the directory assistance services that are in place. Yet another specific problem is to provide directory assistance services to calling parties in such a manner that the perceived value of the directory assistance services is undiminished. In addition, a specific problem is to provide directory assistance services in such a manner that a calling party is provided with useful information with respect to obtaining further assistance when the directory assistance service does not include an entry for the party whose directory number the calling party is seeking.
Therefore, there is a need for a system that provides directory assistance services in a multiple service provider local environment.
There is a particular need for a system that provides directory assistance services to take into account the separate databases that may be maintained by the service providers serving the geographic area.
There is also a need for a system that provides directory assistance services in a manner that works with existing directory assistance services and directory assistance databases.
There is a further need for a system that provides directory assistance services to calling parties in a manner such that the perceived value of directory assistance services is not diminished.
There is an additional need for a system that provides directory assistance services in such a manner that a calling party is provided with useful information.